A Drop in the Ocean
by Kittyclaw
Summary: Oneshot, songfic, UxY. Odd's giving him the push he needs. Yumi's given him the chance to take. Now all Ulrich needs to do it step forward and take it.


**I haven't attempted full on UxY before, so this is a bit of a first for me (although, one of my UxY loving friends, RenaYumi, tells me I haven't butchered the pairing completely). Speaking of whom, Rena has written an absolutely amazing story by the name of Summer of the Traveling Princess, which follows Aelita as she spends her summer traveling to visit with her friends. Coming up in chapter four will be her amazing OC, Odd's little sister Sophie, who I have snatched and tucked away in here. Her story is brilliant, and I suggest any fan of UxY, AxJ, or Aelita give it a read.**

**And now back to this fic. I would like to take a moment to proudly declare this as not only my longest oneshot to date, but also home to my longest sentence (107 words, no commas, and it still works). And now I'm done bragging for myself and Rena, off to the fic! The song is "A Drop in the Ocean" by Ron Pope (it's a beautiful song, I would certainly suggest giving it a listen on youtube). Enjoy, and let me know what you thought of my venture into this pairing!**

Lying on his bed, reading quietly, Ulrich Stern was focused entirely on the words flowing beneath his eyes. Which is why he jumped so badly he was almost dislodged from his bed when the door to his dorm suddenly burst open, admitting his roommate, who was screeching "It's Summer!" at the top of his lungs. Said roommate then tossed his bag aside, almost taking off Ulrich's head in the process, and snatched up his sleeping dog; Kiwi giving a startled yelp as he was suddenly swung around happily by his ecstatic owner.

"Odd," Ulrich said, glaring at the blonde as he tossed Odd's backpack off his bed and onto the floor, "Do you really think the people across Paris need to know that we're on summer vacation?" Odd dumped Kiwi onto his bed and then put his finger to his chin in thought.

"Yes," he said after a moment of thoughtful humming. "I would let Germany know too, but I don't think they would care." Odd grinned at his roommate, and then seconds later ducked to avoid the pillow Ulrich chucked his way. "Hey, play nice!"

"I'll play nice," Ulrich said, turning back to his book, "If you'll stop talking and let me read." Ulrich then resumed reading, ready to tune out whatever noise Odd was planning on making next. But Odd didn't make any more noise. It was when Ulrich had made his way through an entire page without interruption that he began to get suspicious of his now silent friend. But by then it was too late.

With a shout Odd flung himself onto Ulrich's bed, causing both boy and book to fly up into the air. "What'cha reading?" Odd asked, snatching the book from the air as Ulrich scrabbled at his sheets so as not to fall completely out his bed. Once he noticed that Odd had his book he snatched for it, losing his grip and falling to the floor. "Nah-aha," Odd teased, pulling the book out of reach. "I want to see."

"Give it back Odd!" Ulrich shouted, lunging at his friend. Odd quickly rolled away, tossing a pillow at Ulrich to try and hold him back. "Odd!"

"Just let me see what it's about!" Odd shouted back, flipping the book over to read the back cover. Ulrich struggled to get to him and wrestle the book away, but Odd held it just out of reach. "It's his last year of high school," Odd read, "And his last chance to show her how he really feels. Will they ever get together in this romantic comedy of love, hate, and- Ulrich! Seriously?" Odd said, staring at Ulrich in shock as the brunet stole his book back.

"What?" Ulrich asked, glaring at the blonde, who was still looking at him, a little dumbstruck. "So I like to vary what I read, is that a crime?" With a glare, Ulrich tucked the book away into one of the drawers under his bed. As he did, Odd burst into laughter.

"Aelita, I would expect to be reading something like that," Odd said around his giggles. "Maybe even Jeremy. But you? Really, I would think even Yumi- Yumi!" Odd repeated, eyes lighting up. "So that's why you're reading that!"

"What are you talking about?" Ulrich asked, trying to sound affronted. Odd noticed he was blushing slightly anyway.

"That book, you're reading it to help you figure out how to talk to Yumi," Odd stated matter of factly. "And don't tell me you're not," he added, cutting Ulrich off as he tried to do just that. "I think everyone and their mom knows you want to tell Yumi how you feel but just can't think of how to say it."

"Oh yeah, and what makes you the love expert?" Ulrich asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Experience," Odd said simply. "But enough about me. You. When are you going to tell her? I think you should now, so you have the whole summer together."

"I can't just go and tell her now," Ulrich said, looking mortified at the thought. "She doesn't even know I like her, it would be like me just asking you to go out with me right now."

"Ulrich, I hate to break this to you," Odd said, rolling on to his stomach to facing his friend, who was seated on the floor, "But everyone, including Yumi, knows you like her. And she likes you, and has been waiting for you to ask. For some time now," he added thoughtfully.

"How do you know this?" Ulrich asked, eyes wide. "Did she tell you she wanted to go out with me?" Odd just stared at Ulrich. There was no way, absolutely no possible way, that Ulrich had missed the signs Yumi was practically beating him over the head with. Heck, even Jeremy had noticed, and normally that boy wouldn't know love if it danced in front of him naked.

"Just trust me," Odd said, "You need to tell her." Ulrich sighed, looking down at the carpet below him, picking at some of the strands.

"But when?" he asked. "And what if she…you know, says no?" At this, Odd had to fight hard not to hit either himself or Ulrich. A brick wall couldn't be this oblivious. It just couldn't.

"Ulrich, just tell her," Odd said, rolling his eyes. "And you know what, you should do it now. She's probably still hanging out with Aelita, so you could go talk to her there if you-" A knock at the door cut Odd off.

"Ulrich?" a familiar voice called, "You in here?"

"Speak of the Yumi," Odd said, grinning at Ulrich as he jumped up and opened the door, revealing Yumi standing behind it. "Hey Yumes," Odd said when he saw her, "What's up?"

"Hey Odd," Yumi said, flashing the blonde a quick smile and then turning her attention to Ulrich. "Um, Ulrich, can we go talk somewhere private?"

"Uhh," Ulrich answered, glancing over at Odd. He gave a frantic 'go with her' signal, though he stopped and grinned when Yumi looked his way. Once she was focused back on Ulrich Odd mouthed 'Go!' and then dropped onto his bed and rolled over, not letting Ulrich argue. "Yeah, okay," Ulrich said, glaring at his roommate's back.

"Good," Yumi said, stepping back out of the doorway. Ulrich followed, grabbing his room key and pulling the door shut behind him.

_A drop in the ocean,  
A change in the weather,  
I was praying that you and me might end up together._

Opening the door to the roof, Yumi lead the way out to the top of the dorm building, tugging on the edge of her shirt slightly as she walked out into the gusting wind, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear to keep it from blowing into her face. Ulrich pulled his jacket close as he followed her out, hair being whipped about by the wind.

Sighing, Yumi walked over to the steel railing that encircled the rooftop, eyes looking out over the school at the sun. It was beginning to dip below the trees of the forest just outside Kadic. Bracing her hands against the rail, Yumi took a deep breath, letting it out loud and slow. She looked over her shoulder at the boy behind her.

"Ulrich, I need to tell you something," she said, sounding slightly subdued. "I-"

"Wait Yumi," Ulrich said, cutting her off. "Before you say anything, I have something I need to tell you too. I…well, it's probably something I should have told you a long time ago."

"Ulrich-"

"No Yumi," Ulrich said, shaking his head. "If I don't say it now then I never will. When…when I first saw you in that martial arts class Jim was doing the first thing I thought was…was how beautiful you were. And…as we kept having classes I started liking you, more and more. And now after all this time, I…I love you." Ulrich paused his awkward confession, as if taking a moment to taste the words, see how they felt. He then nodded slightly, looking up at Yumi with a smile. "I love you Yumi."

Now fully facing Ulrich, Yumi stood with her hand to her mouth, eyes wide and glistening with the beginnings of tears. She just stood that way for a moment, watching Ulrich silently, and as she did Ulrich felt a ball of dread drop into his stomach. She must not feel the same way he thought to himself, she doesn't love me back.

"It's, it's okay if you don't feel the same way," Ulrich said, reaching up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Actually, I think I'll just go now." He turned to the roof door, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he hurried over to it, suddenly just wanting to be as far away from the roof as possible.

"No, Ulrich, wait!" Yumi shouted after him, the shock from his confession that had kept her rooted to the spot dissipating at the thought of him leaving. Running after the brunet, Yumi grabbed his arm, stopping it right before it reached the door handle. When he turned to look at her she pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I love you too Ulrich," she whispered to her surprised friend, who slowly looped his arms around her. "Please don't leave."

"You- you do?" Ulrich asked, still in shock from Yumi's announcement.

"Yes," Yumi said, nodding into his shoulder. Pulling back to look at Yumi's face, Ulrich found her grinning at him, mirroring what Ulrich was sure was a ridiculous and goofy grin splitting his face.

"Wow," Ulrich said. "I guess Odd was right. If I told you now we would have the entire summer to spend together." When Ulrich said this Yumi's face fell, her eyes dropping to look at the ground as she shuffled her feet.

"Ulrich, that's…sort of what I wanted to talk to you about," she said, looking back up at Ulrich. "My family wants to spend the summer in Japan. And…we might not come back."

_It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,  
But I'm holding you closer than most,  
'Cause you are my heaven._

"So, when are you guys leaving?" Ulrich asked Yumi, who was tucked up against him, his arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest. They were curled up together under one of the many large trees that populated the large woods outside of Kadic.

"Tomorrow morning," Yumi said, sighing into Ulrich's shirt. "Our train leaves at eleven."

"Right," Ulrich whispered, letting his head fall back against the tree behind it. "I'm going to miss you Yumi," he added quietly, tilting his head so that his cheek rested against the top of the older girl's head.

"I'm going to miss you too," Yumi said, scooting a little closer. "I'll be thinking of today the whole time I'm gone." Ulrich nodded softly in agreement. He too wouldn't be able to get this day out of his mind, after all it was probably the best one of his as of yet short life. Ever since his confession the night before he and Yumi hadn't spent more than a minute apart, having stayed up the roof for what ended up being quite a few hours. They had watched the sun setting behind the trees of the forest, and had sat for hours talking. Talking about their feelings and how long they'd been waiting and how much they wished it had happened sooner but were glad that it had happened at all.

They hadn't talked much, if at all, about Yumi's leaving for Japan. It really wasn't something either was too interested in thinking about, although it lurked at the back of their minds anyway, like the remnants of a bad dream.

"You'll come back," Ulrich said, sounding a little like he was trying to convince himself as much as Yumi. "I'm sure your parents wouldn't want you to spend your last two years of school somewhere else after having come here."

"I hope you're right," Yumi whispered. "They've been talking about going back for so long though. We only came to France in the first place because of Dad's job. But with it going so badly…" Yumi cut herself off with a sigh, burrowing even closer to Ulrich. "I don't want to leave you guys," she said. "I…I don't want to leave you."

"And you won't," Ulrich assured her. "You'll be back for school next year, you'll see." Yumi didn't say anything, just nodding against Ulrich's chest. After a few minutes she turned her head to look up at him.

"Ulrich?" she asked, getting his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Will you come see me off at the train station?" she asked. Ulrich bit his lip, chewing it slightly in though.

"If I can get out of school," he said. "I don't know how I'll get there though. The school won't lend one of their cars to me. Not after last time anyway." Despite the somber mood of their talk, Yumi laughed, having trouble shaking the image of Ulrich when he'd been standing at the car check-in desk with steering wheel in hand, trying to explain about the squirrel in the street.

"I wouldn't blame them," she said, "You never know when another squirrel might strike." She laughed harder when Ulrich swatted at her and then started laughing as well.

It was going to be hard not to miss this when she left.

_I don't wanna waste the weekend,  
If you don't love me, pretend  
A few more hours, then it's time to go._

"Hey Ulrich, doesn't Yumi leave today?" Odd asked his roommate, who was buried under his bedding. When he didn't get a response he grabbed one of his pillows and lobbed it at the lump that was Ulrich.

"Hey!" Ulrich shouted when the pillow hit his head, appearing from under the covers like a gopher from his hole. "What was that for?"

"Why aren't you saying goodbye to Yumi?" Odd asked, ignoring Ulrich's question as he tossed another pillow at him. Ulrich caught this one, tossing it and its companion back at his blonde roommate. Odd ducked the first and then took the second to the face. "I'm hit!" Odd shouted, which was followed up with a rather over dramatic death scene.

"Because," Ulrich said, rolling his eyes as Odd fell from his bed and began twitching on the floor, "She left for the train station too early for me to see her at her house."

"So go drive down to the station and see her!" Odd shouted from where he lay on the floor, limbs sprawled and Kiwi staring at him.

"How?" Ulrich asked. "I don't have my own car, and you know the school won't lend one out to me."

"Why-oh, right, the squirrel," Odd said, causing Ulrich to scowl and then toss another pillow at the blonde.

"Right, so I'm stuck here," Ulrich said, flopping back onto his bed with a loud huff. "Meanwhile Yumi is about to travel half way across the word and maybe never come back and I'll never get to say goodbye."

"Well, maybe you can," Odd said, suddenly sitting upright.

"How, steal a school car?" Ulrich asked.

"Always an option," Odd said. "But not what I was thinking."

"You were thinking?" Ulrich said, his expression one of mock horror and shock.

"Very funny," Odd responded, grabbing Ulrich's pillow off the ground and tossing it back at him. "No, what I was thinking was this- you aren't allowed to borrow a school car. But I am!"

"No," Ulrich said, giving a violent shake of his head. "No, I refuse to let you drive me anywhere. Period."

"Even if it means never seeing Yumi again?" Odd asked, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. Ulrich opened his mouth, glared, and then shut it again.

"If you kill us, so help me-"

"Great!" Odd shouted, leaping up and grabbing Ulrich by the wrist. He then ignored any protests Ulrich tried to make, dragging the boy from his bed, out the door, and down the hall.

_As my train rolls down the East coast,  
__I wonder how you'll keep warm.  
It's too late to cry, too broken to move on._

"Odd, remind me to never let you drive me anywhere ever again."

"What? We got here in one piece didn't we?" Odd asked, sounding affronted as he undid his seatbelt and turned to glare at Ulrich. The brunet was sitting with his back pressed as far into the car's seat as possible, one hand braced on the dashboard, the other gripping the door handle. Hearing Odd he turned his head to look at his friend and scowled.

"Physically, yes. Mentally?"

Odd blew a raspberry at Ulrich, waving a hand dismissingly as he opened his car door and climbed out. With a glare Ulrich did the same, slamming the door shut and looking up at the train station he and Odd had parked in front of. "Do you know which platform she's leaving from?" Odd asked as the pair hurried towards the building, joining the crowd of people being shuffled in and out of the station through a row of revolving doors.

"No," Ulrich said, "But I know that it's the eleven o'clock that's heading to Paris. That's where Yumi is flying out of." As he spoke Ulrich fought his way through the crowd, following Odd as the blonde led the way to the departures board hanging over the wide ticket counter. Stopping among the herds of people all standing around trying to locate their trains, Odd and Ulrich craned their necks up to find the train they wanted.

"I don't see it!" Ulrich said after about a minute, starting to feel nervous. Maybe he'd been wrong about the time? Or the place they were going?

"There it is!" Odd shouted, cutting off his friends thoughts as he pointed to one of the boards to the far right. Down at the bottom, in white lettering it read '11:00am-Platform 12-Paris, France'. Glancing around, Ulrich spotted a sign showing platforms 7-12 off the right and then grabbed Odd's sleeve, dragging the blonde off to find platform twelve.

They ran full out, weaving between the mess of people crowding the platforms, some of whom shouted after them as they went. The paused when they reached a sign showing the platforms to the left as being 7-9 and then continued on to platforms 10-12 up ahead. Turning left, the pair sprinted down to platform twelve. They felt relieved when they found the train still there, but it was pushed aside by the sheer number of people that crowded the platform around them.

"How are we supposed to find her in all this?" Odd asked, spinning around as he searched for his friend.

"I don't know," Ulrich said, trying not to lose all hope right then and there. "She has to be around here somewhere!" Odd nodded, still searching frantically when he suddenly froze.

"Ulrich, we're idiots," he said, swatting his friend on the arm.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Ulrich asked back.

"Our cell phones!" Odd shouted. "Call her!" Ulrich stared at Odd for a moment, a look that shouted 'I'm an idiot' scribbled across his face, and then shoved his hand into his pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, Ulrich hit his speed dial and jammed the phone to his ear, meanwhile keeping look out for Yumi. After a few rings someone picked up.

"_Hello?"_

"Yumi! It's Ulrich, I'm here at the station!" Ulrich shouted, "Where are you?"

"_You're here?" _Yumi asked, sounding both shocked and overjoyed. _"I'm already on the train, fifth car."_

"Okay, I'm heading over," Ulrich told her. He then hung up, cramming his phone back into his pocket and taking off into the crowd.

_Still I can't let you be,  
__Most nights I hardly sleep.  
Don't take what you don't need from me._

"Excuse me, pardon me, move please!"

Ulrich scowled at the people who refused to get out of his way. Student's saying goodbye to friends, families waving off their members, all a mass of emotions and chatter and no one moving to make way for Ulrich. He was not pleased. Shoving around an elderly woman in an entirely ridiculous mountain of a fur coat (Ulrich fleetingly hoped she passed out from the heat) Ulrich finally reached car five.

Eyes glued to the train car's side Ulrich ran along the edge of the track, shoving his way through groups talking to people through open windows. He jumped up occasionally, trying to get a better look into the different cars in case he missed Yumi. The people in the cars stared back. They were not amused by the teenage boy peeping into their compartments.

Ulrich didn't find Yumi until the very last window. Her hands were pressed against the glass, and her eyes lit up when she spotted Ulrich. A goofy grin plastered on his face, Ulrich reached up, planting his hands over Yumi's. He could feel their warmth through the chill glass.

'You came,' Yumi mouthed through the window. With a light thunk her forehead fell against the glass.

"Of course I did," Ulrich said, unmindful of the fact that Yumi couldn't hear him. It didn't matter. He was going to get to see her one more time before she left. Yumi seemed to feel the same, content to just lean against the window.

The shrill whistle of the train startled them both. Ulrich looked up the length of the train, where people were starting to pull away from the tracks and thick smoke was pouring from the engine. It created a dark cloud over the platform. Ulrich felt it was fitting. It matched his now gloomy mood.

When he looked back Yumi was no longer alone, her parents now in the car, both peering over her shoulder to see who she was talking to. A messy head of black hair and two dark eyes appeared under Yumi's arm, and then Hiroki was waving at Ulrich. Yumi ignored them all, her eyes trained on her boyfriend.

'Goodbye,' she mouthed, scrubbing at her eyes.

"Bye," Ulrich shouted, stepping back when the train gave a loud hiss and a clang.

Eyes going wide, Yumi looked away for a moment, rummaging for something. When she turned back she had her cell in hand. She pressed it against the glass, pointing to it and then herself and Ulrich nodded, holding up his own phone.

A loud, straining groan filled the air, reverberating through Ulrich's chest. With a dull bang the wheels of the train chugged to life. There was a screech as the train jerked forward, the cars knocking together as they lurched into motion. And then slowly, tauntingly, the train began to pull away.

He didn't even realize he was moving until the train picked up speed, and then suddenly Ulrich's legs were pumping, driving his body forward as he kept pace with the train. Yumi pressed herself against the window as if she thought that, by pressing hard enough, she would fall through the glass and into Ulrich's arms.

But she didn't. She remained on the other side of the glass, tears rolling down her cheeks while Ulrich kept running, trying to ignore the prick in his own eyes and the fact that the platform wall was getting closer and closer.

And then it was there and Ulrich wanted nothing more than for it to vanish so that he could keep on running forever and ever but it didn't, and he was throwing out his hands just in time to stop his momentum from crushing his nose into the bricks. The train thundered past him, as if mocking him and his wall.

It wasn't until the train had disappeared down the tracks and most of the crowd had dispersed away that Odd appeared at Ulrich's shoulder.

"You ready to go back to school?" he asked, hands shoved into his pockets.

"Yeah," Ulrich sighed, turning to look at his friend. Odd didn't so much as raise an eyebrow at the tear that escaped down his friend's cheek. It made Ulrich want to hug him. "Let's go. The car's due back."

"If we hurry, you can finish your love story before bed time."

Ulrich punched his friend half heartedly in the arm, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Odd smiled, tossing an arm around his shoulders and leading the way to the exit.

_Misplaced trust and old friends,  
Never counting regrets,  
By the grace of God, I do not rest at all._

"It seems like only a week ago we were here," Odd said, hefting his large yellow and purple duffel bag over his shoulder. Ulrich stared at his friend.

"We _were_ here a week ago."

"Oh," Odd said, looking around the busy train station. Ulrich shook his head at his friend, pushing his way up to the ticket counter. He had to shout at the man behind the glass window to be heard over the din of the other people. Once he had his ticket paid for he stepped back, letting Odd purchase his.

"What platform are we leaving from?" Odd asked once he had his ticket, the pair quickly escaping the madness of the ticket counters.

"Seven," Ulrich said, squinting at his ticket. Odd nodded, and after glancing up at a nearby sign started leading the way to the platform. They were a little early, so thankfully the platform wasn't nearly as crowded as the one for Yumi's train had been. It didn't take Ulrich and Odd long to get on the train, and after twenty minutes of aimless wandering someone showed up who could direct them to their car.

"Oooh, nice," Odd said, dumping his stuff on the floor and flinging himself onto one of the seats. Ulrich rolled his eyes, kicking his friend's bag aside as he entered the compartment.

"Let's try to be at least a little clean," he said, tossing his bag up on the rack above the seat Odd hadn't taken. "We're riding this to Paris, not moving in."

"Yeah yeah," Odd huffed. He grabbed his suitcase and crammed it under his seat, then dropped his duffle bag down next to him, using it as a pillow as he sprawled back out. Ulrich rolled his eyes giving the leg that Odd dangled over the edge of his seat a kick. Odd stuck his tongue out. "Shut the door, would you?"

"What am I, your mother?" Ulrich asked, though he slid the compartment door back shut.

"Thanks mum," Odd answered cheekily. Ulrich responded by sitting on him. The pair proceeded to wrestle, banging around their compartment until someone showed up to tell them to knock it off and present their tickets for stamping. It wasn't long after when the train groaned to life and began creeping away from the station, wheels picking up speed until it was galloping away. The city passed by in a blur, Odd spotting Kadic and waving it a cheerful goodbye.

Soon the train left the city behind and it was hills and trees that whizzed past the window. The blur of green didn't keep Odd's attention long before he switched his focus to Ulrich.

"So, you call her yet?"

"Huh?" Ulrich asked, staring blankly at Odd.

"Yumi," Odd clarified, "Have you called her yet?"

"Er…"

"You haven't!" Odd shouted, staring wide eyed at his friend. Ulrich, taken back by Odd outburst, nodded. "Why?" Odd demanded.

"I…don't know what time it is where she is," Ulrich said, the excuse sounding lame even to his own ears. "I wouldn't want to wake her up."

Odd stared at Ulrich a moment, mouth hanging open. And then he lunged forward, Ulrich only having enough time for his eyes to go wide before Odd tackled him.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Ulrich shouted, shoving his friend off of him. Odd fell onto the seat beside Ulrich, eyes focused on something in his hands. Ulrich belatedly realized it was his cell phone. "Give me that!" he said, snatching for the device. Odd, pulled it away, eyes still on the screen.

"Hold on a second," he said, messing with the buttons. "There. Now you know what time it is." Odd held out the phone and Ulrich snatched it away, looking at the screen.

"Three forty two pm?" he read, looking up at Odd in confusion.

"I set your clock to Japan time," Odd said, grinning. "Now you know when she's up!" Ulrich glared, tucking his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I know what she's doing," Ulrich said. "What if I call and she's busy?"

Odd answered by grabbing his discarded jacket off the floor and chucking it at Ulrich.

_New England as the leaves change;  
The last excuse that I'll claim,  
I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl._

Ulrich had thought nothing could be worse than trying to navigate the train station back at Kadic. The Paris station soon proved him wrong. He already feeling claustrophobic about all of the bodies crowding to close together, and he hadn't even exited the train yet. He and Odd were standing in the line of people leaving the train; trudging slowly along, bags in hand, waiting for their chance to get off and join the sea of people outside. Once they had, Ulrich kind of wished they could have just stayed on.

"If you can find your train before school starts again, I'll be amazed." Ulrich rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well-"

"Odd!"

"Soph-oof," Odd gasped as a small purple and blonde blur crashed into him at waist level.

"Hi Odd is school done now?" a little voice asked from Odd's naval.

"Yeah Soph, school's done," Odd said, grinning as he bent down, scooping up the little girl that looked up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Sophie! What have I told you about running off in crowds!"

"You're such a mom Adele," Odd said, his grin widening as another girl reached them. "Hey sis."

Adele looked a lot like her brother, tall and wiry with long blonde hair and purple streaked bangs. She smiled in a way eerily similar to Odd as she pulled him into a quick one armed hug.

"Hey Odd," she said, reaching up and ruffling his hair. "And hi Ulrich."

"Hi Ulrich!" Sophie parroted, giggling and waving at the brunet. Ulrich smiled at the two and waved.

"Come on you guys," Odd said suddenly, setting Sophie down. "We need to get Ulrich to his train."

"We?" Ulrich asked. "Why do I need an escort?"

"I'm not going to see you for three months!" Odd said, shoving Ulrich playfully. "You think I would let you just go get lost in the train station and leave?"

"Thanks Odd," Ulrich said. Odd grinned at him.

"So, where do we need to go?" Adele asked, picking Sophie up and propping the girl on her hip.

"Uh…" Ulrich set his bag down, digging his hand into his pocket to get his ticket. Odd watched over his shoulder as he looked for the platform number. "Platform six."

"Which is this way," Adele said. Looking up, Odd and Ulrich found that she was already disappearing into the crowd, Sophie's curly blond head watching the pair over her sister's shoulder with a grin. Exchanging looks, the two boys quickly gathered up their bags and hurried after her. She led the way out into the station's main hub and to a platform across the other side.

"It's like she had this planned," Odd said, staring at his sister's back. "She's nuts like that you know," Odd added. "She would have figured out where your platform was just so she could dump you there and then drag me to the airport two hours before the plane leaves."

"I'm sure she's not that bad," Ulrich said as Adele came to a stop beside the large black train.

"Here we are!" she said cheerily, spinning around to face the two boys. "Now hurry up, our plane leaves at one and I don't want to miss it."

"Or maybe she is," Ulrich amended. Odd nodded.

"She's a mom," Odd said, rolling his eyes. "So, I guess this is it then."

"Yeah," Ulrich said, suddenly feeling awkward. He wasn't very good at goodbyes. That didn't stop Odd of course. Dropping his bags, Odd grabbed Ulrich and pulled him into a tight hug. Ulrich stiffened for a moment, and then dropped his own stuff and returned it.

"See you in September," Odd said as he pulled away. "And you better have called Yumi before then."

"I will," Ulrich sighed, bending down and grabbing his stuff. "See you."

With a smile Odd gave Ulrich a final pat on the back, and then a shove towards the open train doors. Trudging up the short set of stairs to the train car, Ulrich gave one final wave over his shoulder, seeing Odd holding up his cell phone and pointing to it while he sister tried to hurry him off, and then he was in the train and alone.

_Still I can't let you be,  
Most nights I hardly sleep,  
Don't take what you don't need from me._

"Hey Ulrich!"

"Don't you know how to knock?"

"Nope," the brunette that had just walked into Ulrich's room said. She grinned at him, and then dropped herself down onto his bed. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Ulrich said, dropping his cell phone onto his chest. He was lying on his back, one hand tucked behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. That was, until the girl next to him leaned into his line of sight.

"Liar," she said simply. Ulrich found it very hard to resist sticking his tongue out at her.

"No I'm not," he defended.

"Ulrich, I'm your sister," the girl said, quirking her eyebrow. "Like it or not, I know when you're lying. Now spill."

"Sarah, there's nothing to spill!" Ulrich all but shouted. He then rolled onto his side with a huff, his back to the girl next to him.

"Oooh," the girl said, poking Ulrich in the back. "This is about that girl isn't it? Yumi, right?"

"This has nothing to do with Yumi!"

"Oh yes it does," Sarah said, and suddenly she had Ulrich's phone in her hands. At the same time yet another head popped in the door.

"Someone talking about Ulrich's girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ulrich shouted, exasperated. He sat up to glare at his sister when she nodded, waving him off.

"Hey Fabian, how much would you bet that Ulrich's phone is off by seven hours because it's on Japanese time?"

"Give me that!" Ulrich spat, snatching his phone from his sister. He then turned his glare to Fabian, who was laughing in the doorway. "What?" The older boy pretended to wipe away imaginary tears of mirth.

"Ulrich, let me give you some brotherly advice," he said, coming over and joining to other two on the bed. "Stop denying it."

"I'm not-"

"How long have you two been together?" Sarah asked, cutting him off. Ulrich was horrified when the question brought a blush to his face.

"About two weeks," he answered, looking down at his lap. "We got together when school got out." Ulrich scowled when his sister aw'ed.

"Do you talk to her a lot?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I bet he calls her every day," Fabian said, planting his hands over his heart and fluttering his eyes in a very overdramatic way. "And they talk for hours about what they had to eat that day and how much they miss each other, and then they-" Sarah shoved Fabian off the bed.

"So, do you call her every day?" she asked.

"Umm, not exactly," Ulrich mumbled, rubbing his thumb absently over the buttons of his phone.

"So what, every other day?" Fabian asked, his head popping up. Ulrich shook his head.

"Actually I haven't called her since she left."

"Ulrich!" Sarah shouted, swatting at her brother. "You left France four days ago!"

"And she left a week before that," Ulrich added sheepishly. His sister groaned, rolling her eyes.

"You're so hopeless," she said. "You should call her now, before she starts thinking you came home and hooked up with some German girl or something."

"She wouldn't think that!" Ulrich said, eyes going wide.

"You'd be surprised," Fabian told him. "Just call her now!"

"I can't," Ulrich said, showing him his phone. "It's two in the morning there!"

"You know, if you keep making excuses, you'll never end up calling," Fabian said.

"It's the middle of the night!" Ulrich shouted, "How is that an excuse?"

"Okay, fine," Fabian said, waving his hand dismissively. "They're what, six hours ahead of us?"

"Seven."

"Seven hours ahead of us? So just get up early and call her tomorrow so you don't miss her again. If you get up at eight then it'll only be like, ten at night in Japan."

"It'll be three in the afternoon," Sarah corrected, staring at her brother.

"Right, whatever," Fabian said. He got up from the floor and stretched, and then started heading for the door. "But seriously Ulrich," he said, pausing to look at his brother. "If you don't call her soon, she's going to stop waiting."

_A drop in the ocean,  
A change in the weather,  
I was praying that you and me might end up together._

9:38 pm. 9:39 pm. 9:40 pm.

Staring at the numbers glowing on the face of his cell phone, Ulrich realized that if he didn't call Yumi now then he was going to miss his chance.

"She wants you to call her," Ulrich told himself. "You know she does."

He didn't reach for the phone.

9:41 pm.

"You know Fabian is right," Ulrich said, glaring at the phone. "She's not just going to wait all summer because you're too sca-stupid to pick up the phone."

The phone remained where it was.

9:42 pm.

"I mean, I know she wouldn't do that to me, just go find someone new." Ulrich nodded to himself. "Besides, who would she find? There's no one in Japan that could take her anyway, it's not like William followed her there." As he said it the image of Yumi and William sitting together at a low table, both in traditional Japanese dress and eating bowls of noodles filled his mind. Ulrich gave a violent shake of his head, dispersing the strange thought.

"William is NOT in Japan," Ulrich told himself sternly. He then glanced back at his phone.

9:45 pm.

"Ugh!" Ulrich shouted, flopping down on his bed. He grabbed one of his pillows from behind him and stuffed it over his face. Idly he considered leaving it there. After all, you can't call your girlfriend if you've smothered yourself. "Why did I tell Yumi I loved her?" Ulrich moaned into his pillow. "If I had just kept my mouth shut none of this-"

Ulrich cut himself off as an odd noise reached his ears. It took him a second to realize it was the sound of a phone vibrating. Tossing his pillow aside, Ulrich rolled over in time to see his phone vibrating its way to the edge of his bed. Throwing his hand out, he was able to catch it just before it made the jump to the floor. He didn't check the id, just answering and cramming the phone to his ear.

"Yumi?" he asked hopefully.

"_Not quite," _a laughing voice answered. Ulrich's eyes went wide, a slight blush coloring his face.

"Hi Odd," he groaned, rolling over and pressing his face into his remaining pillow. "Sorry."

"_Expecting someone else?" _Odd teased his friend. _"So, how many times have you guys talked now? Twenty? Thirty?"_

"Uhh…" Ulrich answered dumbly.

"_Ulrich, you're kidding," _Odd said after a pause in which Ulrich was sure he had been staring at his phone. _"Not even once?"_

"I was about to call her when you called," Ulrich said. He heard a 'pffft' from the other end of the line.

"_And I was about to eat a whale. I bet you were just sitting on your bed staring at your phone."_

"…so?" Ulrich asked. "I was just…getting ready to call."

"_Uh-huh," _Odd answered. _"You're siblings probably came and harassed you about it last night, right? And you're just doing this to get them to back off."_

"Did you go home for vacation or my attic?" Ulrich growled, pressing his face further into his pillow.

"_I know you too well," _Odd said. Ulrich could hear the grin in his voice.

"Oh yeah? What color am I thinking of?" Ulrich asked.

"_You're not," _Odd answered. _"You're thinking of a square."_

Ulrich pulled his phone away from his ear for a second and stared at it before replacing it. He heard Odd laughing when he did. "I hate you."

"_I know," _Odd said. _"But enough about me. Let's talk about you. And Yumi," _he added, redirecting the conversation in his less the subtle way. _"You should call her now."_

"Now?" Ulrich repeated.

"_That's what I said."_

"I can't call her now! It's too late in the day. I'll call her tomorrow."

"_Fine," _Odd wined, and Ulrich smiled. _"I'll call her instead." _The smile vanished.

"What? Odd no, don't-" Ulrich was cut off by the click of Odd switching to the other line. A few seconds later the ringing of a phone announced his return.

"_I love three-way calling," _Odd said cheerfully.

"Odd, what are you doing!?"

"_Bye Ulrich," _Odd answered. _"Have a nice chat with your girlfriend!"_

"Odd wait, don't-!"

"_Hello?"_

Ulrich froze, a blush again rising in his cheeks. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. "Uh, hey Yumi," he said. He then hit his head against his pillow. Could he have sounded any more lame?

"_Hey Ulrich," _Yumi said. Ulrich could hear the smile in her voice. _"I was beginning to think you forgot about me."_

"Of course not!" Ulrich said, rolling onto his back. "I couldn't forget about you." It was at this moment that Ulrich realized he had no idea what to talk about. "So," he drawled after the conversation had lapsed into silence. "How was your trip?"

And suddenly there was no limit of things to talk about. Yumi told Ulrich every little detail about her trip; about the station in Paris and the crowds in the airport, the long long plane ride and the taxi drive through Tokyo and out past that to where her home was, about how her old room was thick with dust from being left empty all school year and how she how she still wasn't used to the time change. It was like listening to Odd's random, rambling tales and Jeremy's long and tedious explanations and Aelita's stories about everyday things that she could make sound fascinating; and it was all of that and better because it was Yumi telling it and Ulrich was soaking up every word.

And then it was Ulrich's turn to tell Yumi about his trip. If it had been Odd or Jeremy or Aelita he wouldn't have had much to say. I took a train, then another train, and then got to Germany and my house. But with Yumi suddenly every detail seemed important. He was telling her about where he sat and where Odd sat and what they got for lunch and how Adel and Sophie had been at the train station (and that Sophie was adorable and Yumi had to meet her one day) and he was telling her about getting home and the dinner his sister and mother made to welcome him home and even about the talk he had with his siblings (taking a moment to assure Yumi that he would never dump her for a German girl) and how Odd had called and then hung up to make them talk and how much he missed her. By the time the two of them were done they had talked for almost three hours.

"Wow, we've been talking for a long time," Ulrich said when Yumi told him this. "Maybe I should let you go to sleep."

"_Not yet," _Yumi said around a yawn. _"I have a question first."_

"Okay," Ulrich said, "What?"

"_How come you took so long to call me?"_

"I uhh…" Ulrich answered dumbly, the question taking him by surprise. "I was just, uh, waiting for a good time to call."

"_You know, it's okay if you were scar-"_

"Nervous," Ulrich said, cutting her off. Yumi laughed. "I was just…nervous. I'm sorry, I know I should have called sooner."

"_It's okay," _Yumi said. _"I understand. I could have called too."_ Ulrich smiled.

"I love you Yumi."

"_I love you too Ulrich. Goodnight."_

"Goodnight Yumi."

Ulrich waited until Yumi hang up before following suit. With a content sigh he grinned up at his ceiling. He couldn't even remember why he had been so nervous about calling Yumi in the first place. Nothing could ruin the happy feeling he felt right now. Not a single thing.

His phone vibrating drew Ulrich's attention. Grinning he snatched it up and stuck it to his ear.

"I thought you were going to bed Yumi."

"_I thought you were going to stop calling me Yumi."_

Ulrich could feel his happy feeling slowly but surely eroding away.

"Hi Odd."

"_Did you talk to her?"_

"After you abandoned me?" Ulrich asked. "Yes."

"_Hey, I'm teaching you to walk on your own two feet!"_

"Yeah, sure you-" Ulrich paused as a thought occurred to him. "Odd, you're in New Zealand."

"_You don't say," _Odd drawled. Ulrich could imagine the blonde's eyes rolling. _"So?"_

"What time is it there?"

"…_Five."_

"In the morning?" Ulrich asked, eyes wide.

"…_Maybe."_

"Go to bed Odd!" Ulrich shouted. He then hung up the phone and tossed it aside.

This was going to be a long summer.

_It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,  
But I'm holding you closer than most,  
'Cause you are my heaven._

"_Are you excited to be back?"_

"Are you a duck?"

"_Good answer," _Odd said. Ulrich sighed, sinking into his seat on the train. _"So, did you talk to Yumi?"_

"Yeah, but she said her parents didn't know yet if they were staying or not," Ulrich said, reaching up a hand to rub his face. "I tried calling her a few hours ago, but her phone was turned off."

"_Really?" _Odd asked. _"That's weird."_

"Do you think she was ignoring me?" Ulrich asked. "Like, she found out her parents wanted to stay in Japan and didn't know how to tell me?"

"_I'm sure it's nothing that dramatic," _Odd said with a snort. _"She probably just forgot to charge it and the battery died. I do that sometimes."_

"Yeah, but that's you," Ulrich said. "Yumi doesn't forget."

"_There's a first time for everything," _Odd told him. _"I'm still shocked that you admitted how you felt. I still keep expecting the world to stop spinning."_

"Shut up," Ulrich groaned, glaring at the laughter on the other end of the line. "You're at the station, right?" he added, glancing out the window. He could see the station building in the distance getting closer and closer. He didn't fancy showing up there only to try and find his own way back to school.

"_Of course," _Odd said. _"Do you really think I would abandon you and make you walk all the way back to school?"_

"Honestly? Yes."

"_You know me well."_

"Too well," Ulrich grumbled, although he was smiling. He looked up as the wheels of the train screeched with the train's final breaking, the car jerking forward and then rocking to a stop at the platform. "I'm at the station now," Ulrich told Odd. "I'll see you when I get off the train."

"_Aye aye captain," _Odd said. Ulrich shook his head as he hung up his phone, dropping it into his bag as he gathered his stuff up and joined the line of people disembarking the train. Once on the platform Ulrich craned his neck, trying to spot a familiar spike of blonde in the sea of heads.

"Where are you Odd?" Ulrich grumbled. He tried sticking close to the train, but the groups of people leaving it soon swallowed him up, tugging him out into the masses that filled the platform. There was no way he was going to find Odd at this rate. He might as well have been trying to find a very small needle in a very big-

A tap on his shoulder drew his attention.

"Hey Odd," Ulrich said, spinning around. "I thought I was never-oh."

"Yeah, Odd said you were having some trouble telling up apart," Yumi said with a laugh, her face lit with a wide grin. Ulrich just stared, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"How-but I thought? You…" Ulrich trailed off, giving his head a firm shake. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up from the train station," Yumi said simply.

"No, I mean-"

"I know what you mean," Yumi said, her grin growing. "My father decided he didn't want to enroll me and Hiroki in a whole new school. And he was able to get a better job where he doesn't have to stay in Japan. We can still live here and he'll just travel back when he needs to."

"That's…that's great!" Ulrich said. Now he too was grinning.

"It is," Yumi said. "Now I haven't seen you in three months. Are you going to say hello to your girlfriend or not?"

Ulrich didn't need telling twice, his bags dropping to the ground by his feet as he scooped Yumi into his arms, spinning her around in the air. Yumi shrieked as she was jerked off the ground laughing as she wrapped her arms around Ulrich's neck and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," she said into his shoulder once he'd set her back down. "Every day that I didn't get to see you."

"I missed you too," Ulrich whispered back, pressing his face against her hair. The two remained like that, just soaking up one another and reveling in being together after three long months apart. If he could have Ulrich would have just frozen that moment in time, bottled away the happiness that filled his chest and kept it close forever.

Although, he would have left out the part about the phone now vibrating in his pocket.

Reaching into his pocket with a sigh, Ulrich grabbed his phone and jammed it to his ear. "Hello?" he said, scowling at the interruption as Yumi giggled, resting her head against his chest.

"_You know, I don't get this rental car all day."_

"You sound like a mom, Odd," Ulrich said, rolling his eyes. He draped an arm around Yumi's shoulders as she continued to laugh.

"_Come on son, get your girlfriend and get out here."_ Ulrich blew a raspberry at his phone, then hung up.

"I guess that's our chaperone checking up on us," Yumi said, pulling away from Ulrich. The boy nodded.

"He's worse than my mother."

"You're lucky you didn't have to spend the summer with mine," Yumi said, grabbing Ulrich's hand and entwining their fingers once he'd gathered up his stuff and they'd started for the exit.

"Oh?" Ulrich said, raising an eyebrow. "She that bad?" Yumi pulled a face.

"The way she asked questions you'd think the two of you had never met."

"Sounds like…fun," Ulrich said.

"Loads," Yumi replied, sarcasm flavoring her voice. "Oh, and Ulrich?"

"Yeah?"

Yumi pulled her hand free of Ulrich's, and then used it to punch him hard in the arm. Ulrich yelped, giving Yumi a shocked look.

"That's for waiting two weeks to call me." Ulrich sighed, rubbing his arm and then looping it around Yumi's shoulders and tugging her close.

"I guess I deserved that, huh?"

"Yes, you did," Yumi said. She then leaned into Ulrich, reaching up and lacing her fingers with the hand hanging over her shoulder. "Next summer I expect you to call me before I'm out of France." Ulrich grinned, hugging her closer.

"I'll do my best."

_You are my heaven_


End file.
